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Abstract:

A system is configured to receive personal data associated with a user,
verify one or more facts from the personal data, and form an avatar based
on a first subset of the received personal data, where a second,
differing, subset of the received personal data is not associated with
the avatar. The system is also configured to receive, from a data
requester, a query including a request for the avatar, and send, to the
data requester, a message that includes information associated with the
avatar and an indication that the one or more facts from the personal
data were verified.

Claims:

1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a computer device, personal data
associated with a user; verifying, by the computer device, one or more
facts from the personal data; forming, by the computer device, an avatar
based on a first subset of the received personal data, where a second,
differing, subset of the received personal data is not associated with
the avatar; receiving, by the computer device and from a data requester,
a query including a request for the avatar; and sending, by the computer
device and to the data requester, a message that includes: information
associated with the avatar, and an indication that the one or more facts
from the personal data are verified.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a plurality of
avatars based on the personal data associated with the user; and
selecting one of the plurality of avatars based on the query.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending, to the user, one
or more forms requesting the personal data associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 3, where each of the one or more forms is
associated with at least one of the plurality of avatars.

5. The method of claim 3, where one form, of the one or more forms, is
sent to the computer device by the data requester.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving information from
the data requester; and determining whether to send the message to the
data requester based on the information received from the data requester.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving information from
the data requester; providing, to the user device in response to
receiving the information, an authentication code; and determining
whether the query further includes the authentication code, where sending
the message is in response to determining that the query includes the
authentication code.

8. An apparatus, comprising: a memory to store instructions; and a
processor to execute the instructions to: receive, from a data requester
device, a query including a request for personal data associated with a
user, where the user is associated with a user device that differs from
the data requester device, identify one or more avatars, of a plurality
of avatars associated with the user, where the identified one or more of
the avatars correspond to the personal data requested in the query, where
each of the plurality of avatars includes personal information associated
with the user and information that is not associated with the user, and
grant the data requester device with access to the personal data through
the identified one or more avatars.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, where the personal data includes a network
address where information associated with the user is stored, and where
the processor, when granting the data requester device with access to the
personal data, is further to send the network address to the data
requester device.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, where the processor is further to: provide,
to the user device, forms that request the personal information
associated with the user; collect the personal information requested in
the forms from the user device; and sort the personal information into
the plurality of avatars based on the forms.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, where the processor is further to: receive
one or more of the forms from the data requester device; and determine to
grant the data requester device with the access to the personal data when
the personal data is provided by the user in the one or more of the forms
received from the data requester device.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, where the processor is further to:
automatically populate one of the forms with corresponding information
collected in another one of the forms.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, where the processor is further to: provide
a verification code to the data requester device; and determine to grant
the data requester device with the access to the personal data when the
query includes the verification code.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, where the processor is further to: receive
information from the user device; verify the received information from
the user device; and provide a verification code to the user device in
response to verifying the received information.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, where the processor is further to:
determine a requester classification, of a plurality of requester
classifications, associated with the data requester device; identify one
or more of the plurality of requester classifications that correspond to
the one or more avatars associated with the personal data; and determine
to grant the data requester device with the access to the personal data
when the requester classification, associated with the data requester
device, corresponds to the identified one or more of the plurality of
requester classifications.

16. The apparatus of claim 8, where the one or more avatars associated
with the personal data do not include any information that identifies the
user.

17. A non-transient computer-readable medium storing instructions
executable by a processor, the non-transitory computer-readable medium
comprising: one or more instructions to receive information from a user;
one or more instructions to verify the received information; one or more
instructions to provide a verification code to the user in response to
verifying the received information; one or more instructions receive,
from a data requester, a query including a request for personal data
associated with the user, where the data requester differs from the user,
one or more instructions to associate the data requester with a requester
classification, one or more instructions to identify one or more avatars,
of a plurality of avatars associated with the user, that correspond to
the personal data requested in the query, and one or more instructions to
determine to grant the data requester with access to the identified one
or more avatars based on the requester classification associated with the
data requester and on the query including the verification code.

18. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, further
comprising: one or more instructions to provide forms that request
personal information associated with the user, where at least one of the
forms is received from the data requester; one or more instructions to
automatically populate one of the forms with corresponding information
collected in another one of the forms; one or more instructions to
collect the personal information requested in the forms; one or more
instructions to form the plurality of avatars based on the collected
personal information, where each of the plurality of avatars is
associated with a respective subset of the collected personal
information; and one or more instructions to determine to grant the data
requester with the access to the identified one or more avatars when the
identified one or more avatars are associated with the personal data that
is requested from the user in the form received from the data requester.

19. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, further
comprising: one or more instructions to notify the user when granting the
data requester with the access to the personal data.

20. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, further
comprising: one or more instructions to access the information from the
at least one of the user or the data requester from a third party who
differs from the user and the data requester.

Description:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0001] In day-to-day interactions with others, an individual typically
shares various different details of that individual's personal,
financial, and professional information. As part of sharing information,
the individual may provide both topically relevant information and
tangential information that may not be topically relevant but may be used
to verify the topically relevant information. For example, to complete a
commercial transaction with a vendor, an individual may provide some type
of payment information, such as a credit card or checking account number.
The vendor may further request, from the individual, additional
information that may not be directly related to the transaction but that
may be used to verify other information received for the transaction. For
example, the vendor may request a user identification that may provide,
for example, the individual's name, address, driver's license number,
and/or other biographical information and use this additional information
to authenticate the individual.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of components of a
system according to an implementation described herein;

[0003] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating example components of an avatar
data collection and access system included in the system of FIG. 1
according to an implementation described herein;

[0004] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating example functional components of
the avatar data collection and access system of FIG. 2 according to an
implementation described herein;

[0005] FIG. 4A is a diagram depicting examples of user data fields that
may be stored by the avatar data collection and access system of FIGS. 2
and 3 according to an implementation described herein;

[0006] FIG. 4B a diagram depicting examples of requester data fields that
may be stored by the avatar data collection and access system of FIGS. 2
and 3 according to an implementation described herein;

[0007] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating example components of a computer
device included in the system of FIG. 1 according to an implementation
described herein;

[0008] FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting examples of avatars that may be
stored by the avatar data collection and access system of FIGS. 2 and 3
according to an implementation described herein;

[0009] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example signal flow according
to an implementation described herein; and

[0010] FIGS. 8A-8D are flow diagrams illustrating a process for
avatar-based identity management according to an implementation described
herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying
drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the
same or similar elements.

[0012] An implementation, described herein, may relate to collecting a
user's information, authenticating the user, and then forming one or more
avatars that are based on, but differ from, the user's collected
information. For example, a user may be registered, and information from
that registered user may be processed to form one or more avatars. When
an entity (e.g., a business, a website, etc.) requests information, that
request may be processed to identify the type of requested information
and one of the user's avatars may be selected according to the requested
information, and information included with that selected avatar may be
provided to the requesting entity.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 100 according to an implementation
described herein. As depicted in FIG. 1, system 100 may include avatar
data collection and access system 110 that stores avatars 111, user
device 120, and data requesting devices 130a-c (referred to herein
collectively as "requesting devices 130" and individually as "requesting
device 130"), which are connected by a network 101.

[0014] Network 101 may include a circuit-switched network and/or a
packet-switched network and may enable components of system 100 to
communicate with each other. For example, network 101 may include a local
area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area
network (MAN), a wireless network (e.g., a Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) network, a general packet radio service (GPRS) network, and/or a
Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), an ad hoc network, a public switched
telephone network (PSTN), a subset of the Internet, any other network, or
any combination thereof

[0015] Avatar data collection and access system 110 may include one or
more devices (e.g., server devices) that interact with user device 120 to
register a user associated with user device 120 and to receive personal
information, associated with that user. For example, avatar data
collection and access system 110 may receive identifying information from
user device 120, authenticate user device 120 based on the identifying
information, receive additional data from user device 120, and provide
credentials to user device 120, once user device 120 is authenticated. As
further described below, avatar data collection and access system 110 may
further organize the data received from user device 120 into multiple
avatars 111, with each of the avatars 111 including different subsets of
the user's personal information.

[0016] Avatar data collection and access system 110 may further include
one or more devices that interact with data requesting devices 130 to
register respective associated users. For example, avatar data collection
and access system 110 may receive identifying information from data
requesting devices 130, authenticate data requesting devices 130 based on
the identifying information, and provide respective credentials to
authenticated data requesting devices 130. Subsequently, avatar data
collection and access system 110 may classify data requesting devices 130
and provide, to data requesting devices 130, appropriate information,
such as information from one or more of avatars 111, based on the
classifications.

[0017] User device 120 may include any device, associated with a user,
capable of exchanging messages with avatar data collection and access
system 110. User device 120 may include, for example, a mobile
communication device, such as a mobile phone, a personal digital
assistant (PDA), or a media playing device with communication
capabilities; a desktop device, such as a personal computer or a
workstation; a laptop computer; a telephone terminal; or any other
communication device or combinations thereof. User device 120 may receive
messages from avatar data collection and access system 110 via a wired
connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of a wired and a
wireless connection.

[0018] User device 120 may further be capable of exchanging messages with
data requesting devices 130. As part of this messaging between user
device 120 and data requesting devices 130, user device 120 may authorize
data requesting devices 130 to access one or more of avatars 111. For
example, user device 120 may provide access credentials to data
requesting devices 130 to enable data requesting devices 130 to access
one or more of avatars 111 through avatar data collection and access
system 110.

[0019] Each of requesting devices 130 may include one or more devices
(e.g., server devices) that may exchange messages with avatar data
collection and access system 110 to authenticate requesting devices 130
and to enable authenticated requesting devices 130 to access one or more
of avatars 111 stored at avatar data collection and access system 110.
Each of requesting devices 130 may also include one or more devices that
may exchange messages with user device 120 to receive authorization, from
user device 120, to access one or more of avatars 111 through avatar data
collection and access system 110.

[0020] Although FIG. 1 shows example components of system 100, in other
implementations, system 100 may include fewer components, different
components, differently arranged components, and/or additional components
than those depicted in FIG. 1. Alternatively, or additionally, one or
more components of system 100 may perform one or more tasks described as
being performed by one or more other components of system 100.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram providing example components of avatar data
collection and access system 110. As shown in FIG. 2, avatar data
collection and access system 110 may include a bus 210, a processor 220,
a memory 230, an input device 240, an output device 250, and a
communication interface 260.

[0022] Bus 210 may permit communication among the components of avatar
data collection and access system 110. Processor 220 may include one or
more processors, microprocessors, and/or processing logic (e.g.,
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable
gate arrays (FPGAs)) that may interpret and execute instructions.

[0023] Memory 230 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type
of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for
execution by processor 220, a read only memory (ROM) or another type of
static storage device that stores static information and instructions for
processor 220, and/or some other type of magnetic or optical recording
medium and its corresponding drive for storing information and/or
instructions. As described in greater detail below, memory 230 may
organize and store, for example, collected personal data, such as avatars
111, from information received from user devices, such as user device
110. Memory 230 may also store, for example, authentication data related
to authentication of data providers, such as user device 120, and data
requesters, such as data requesting devices 130.

[0024] Input device 240 may include a device that permits an operator to
input information to avatar data collection and access system 110, such
as a keyboard, a keypad, a button, a mouse, a pen, a microphone, one or
more biometric mechanisms, and the like. Output device 250 may include a
device that outputs information to the operator, such as one or more
light indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a display, a
speaker, etc.

[0025] Communication interface 260 may include any transceiver-like
mechanism that enables avatar data collection and access system 110 to
communicate with other devices and/or systems. For example, communication
interface 260 may include mechanisms for communicating with other
devices, such as other devices of system 100 through network 101. For
example, communication interface 260 may include a modem, a network
interface card, and/or a wireless interface card. Communication interface
260 may enable avatar data collection and access system 110 to interact
with other devices to send forms, from memory 230, to another device,
such as user device 120, receive personal information requested in the
forms from the other device, and provide controlled access to the
received personal information by other devices, such as data requesting
devices 130.

[0026] As described herein, avatar data collection and access system 110
may perform certain operations in response to processor 220 executing
software instructions included in a computer-readable medium, such as
memory 230. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a non-transitory
memory device. A memory device may include memory space within a single
physical memory device or spread across multiple physical memory devices.
The software instructions may be read into memory 230 from another
computer-readable medium or from another device via communication
interface 260. The software instructions included in memory 230 may cause
processor 220 to perform processes described herein. Alternatively,
hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with
software instructions to implement processes described herein. Thus,
implementations described herein are not limited to any specific
combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0027] Although FIG. 2 shows example components of avatar data collection
and access system 110, in other implementations, avatar data collection
and access system 110 may include fewer components, different components,
differently arranged components, or additional components than depicted
in FIG. 2. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more components of
avatar data collection and access system 110 may perform one or more
tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of
avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating example functional components of
avatar data collection and access system 110 according to an
implementation described herein. In one implementation, the functions
described in connection with FIG. 3 may be performed by one or more
components of avatar data collection and access system 110 (FIG. 2). As
shown in FIG. 3, avatar data collection and access system 110 may include
data provider registration interface component 310, data collection
interface component 320, avatar creation component 330, data access
interface component 340, and data requester registration interface
component 350.

[0029] Data provider registration interface component 310 may receive
information from an individual, such as a user associated with user
device 120. For example, data provider registration interface component
310 may receive information to identify the user and verify the user's
identity using this identifying information. Data provider registration
interface component 310 may receive this identifying information from the
user or from a third-party source, as described below.

[0030] Data provider registration interface component 310 may verify the
user based on the received information. Various types of verification may
be used by data provider registration interface component 310 to verify
the user's identifying information. For example, data provider
registration interface component 310 may perform electronic verification
that includes a comparison of the received information against stored
information associated with the user, such as information previously
received from the user or information accessed from another data source,
such as a public data repository. Other known verification techniques may
be employed by data provider registration interface component 310 to
verify the user. For example, a user may be screened against lists of
criminals.

[0031] Furthermore, data provider registration interface component 310 may
provide the user with data, such as a unique encryption code or another
type of credential for establishing a secure session or other connection
to avatar data collection and access system 110. For example, data
provider registration interface component 310 may assign a personal
identification number (PIN) or, otherwise, receive an input from the user
defining a PIN. In one embodiment, the data provider registration
interface component 310 may provide the credential to a device associated
with a registered user, such as user device 120, in the form of a cookie
that operates through the associated device to identify the user to
avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0032] After data provider registration interface component 310
authenticates the user, data collection interface component 320 may
organize the verification information received by data provider
registration interface component 310 and/or collect additional
information from the authenticated user. For example, data collection
interface component 320 may provide a device associated with an
authenticated user, such as user device 120, with one or more forms to
collect data from the user. As described below, data collection interface
component 320 may receive the forms from a device associated with a data
requester, such as one of data requesting devices 130. When providing the
form(s) to the device associated to the authenticated user, data
collection interface component 320 may pre-populate the forms with
previously collected and/or stored data associated with user, such as
data acquired from other forms or the information provided by the user to
data provider registration interface component 310. Data collection
interface component 320 may collect and store the user's responses to the
forms.

[0033] Prior to accepting the data from the user, data collection
interface component 320 may further authenticate a verified user, such as
to request that the user provide the PIN associated with the user. Data
collection interface component 320 may further strongly authenticate the
user by requiring the user to provide and/or verify multiple types of
personal information, such as to provide the PIN and additional personal
information such as a mother's maiden name, a pet's name, a social
security number, a current or prior telephone number, a driver's license
number, etc.

[0034] Continuing with FIG. 3, avatar creation component 330 may organize
the data, collected from the user by data provider registration interface
component 310 and/or data collection interface component 320, to define
one or more avatars. For purposes of the present application, an avatar
may be data records that include some personal information associated
with a user and additional information that differs from the user. The
avatar includes sufficient information to be used a by a data requestor
but differs sufficiently to protect the user's identity.

[0035] Avatar creation component 330 may associate information from the
user's collected data with the avatars based, for example, on inputs from
the user. For instance, the user may manually define an avatar based on
an intended individual or category of individuals to receive particular
information. For example, the user may define an avatar that includes
sufficient information, from the user, to enable a vendor to complete
online transactions. For example, this "online transaction" avatar may be
associated with the user's actual payment information and shipping
address, but may not include other identifying information associated
with the user, such as the user's name, in order to protect the user's
privacy. Because the avatar does not include the user's complete
information, the vendor may not be able to directly verify and
authenticate the user's payment and shipment information, but the avatar
may include some type of information or code to indicate that the user is
authenticated and/or that the payment and shipment information is
verified. Alternatively, the avatar may be associated with sufficient
personal information from the user to enable the vendor to verify other
information associated with the avatar, but the avatar's information may
still differ sufficiently from the user's personal information to protect
the user's identity.

[0036] Avatar creation component 330 may also organize data from the
authenticated user into an avatar based on information requested in a
particular form. Avatar creation component 330 may also organize data,
from the authenticated user, into avatars based on inputs received from a
data requester, such as an entity associated with data requesting devices
130. For instance, a data requester or a form associated with the data
requester may specify certain aspects of the user's information to
include in an avatar and/or aspects of the user's information that may be
excluded from an avatar, and avatar creation component 330 may organize
the requested data to form an avatar that is specific to that data
requester.

[0037] When forming an avatar, avatar creation component 330 may remove
immutable personal information associated with the user, such as the
user's name, address, age and/or other personal or identifying
information, as appropriate. For example, avatar creation component 330
may swap information collected from one user with information collected
from one or more other users. Alternatively, avatar creation component
330 may form an avatar that includes certain information associated with
the user and further includes certain randomly determined information
that differs from the user's information. For example, as described
above, an avatar's data records may store address and payment information
associated with a user, but may further store a different name, age,
occupation, etc. In this way, avatar creation component 330 may form a
data record associated with an avatar used for online commercial
transactions that may include, for example, a user's address and credit
card information but may be associated with a different name, telephone
number, and age to protect the user's privacy and to provide increased
security to prevent lost of the user's personal information.

[0038] Data access interface component 330 may further include, in the
information associated with an avatar, an indication regarding which of
the information associated with the avatar corresponds to information
associated with the user. Data access interface component 330 may further
include, in an avatar, an indication that the user information, included
with the avatar, is reliable because the information in the avatar or
other information associated with the user has been verified. Similarly,
data access interface component 330 may further include, in an avatar, an
indication regarding whether the user was authenticated by data
collection interface component 320.

[0039] Continuing with FIG. 3, data access interface component 340 may
enable an entity, such as an entity associated with data requesting
device 130, to access an avatar that includes some of the personal
information collected, from the data provider (e.g., user device 110), by
data collection interface component 320. For example, data access
interface component 340 may allow a data requester to access information
associated with an avatar and may withhold user information that is not
associated with the avatar. The user may direct data access interface
component 340 to provide a particular avatar to a user. For example, the
user may send, to data access interface component 340, instructions to
associate a particular avatar with the data requester. Alternatively, the
user may indirectly authorized the data requester to access the
information associated with an avatar through data access interface
component 340. For example, the user may provide the data requester with
information, such as the avatar's name and/or some type of access code
associated with the avatar, and the data requester may provide this
information to data access interface component 340 to access the
information associated with the avatar.

[0040] In another embodiment, data access interface component 340 may
select, based on an information request by a data requester, an avatar,
from multiple avatars associated with the user, to provide to the data
requester. For example, data access interface component 340 may process a
request from the data requester to identify particular user information
associated with the request and determine an avatar that includes the
identified requested user information.

[0041] In another embodiment, data access interface component 340 may
select, based on a classification associated with a data requester, an
avatar, from multiple avatars associated with the user, to provide to the
data requester. For example, data access interface component 340 may
identify and provide a particular avatar to a data requester classified
as an online vendor.

[0042] Continuing with FIG. 3, data requester registration interface
component 350 may receive information from a user/entity associated with
one of data requesting devices 130. Data requester registration interface
component 350 may authenticate the user/entity based on the received
information. For example, data requester registration interface component
350 may receive information to identify the user/entity and to verify the
user/entity's identity using this identifying information. Various types
of authentications may be used by data requester registration interface
component 350. For example, data requester registration interface
component 350 may perform electronic verification of the provided
information through a comparison of the received information against
stored information associated with the user/entity, such as information
previously received from the user/entity or information accessed from
publicly available data sources. Other known authentication techniques
may be employed by data requester registration interface component 350 to
authenticate the user/entity.

[0043] Although FIG. 3 shows example functional components of avatar data
collection and access system 110, in other implementations, avatar data
collection and access system 110 may include fewer functional components,
different functional components, differently arranged functional
components, or additional functional components than depicted in FIG. 3.
Additionally or alternatively, one or more functional components of
avatar data collection and access system 110 may perform one or more
tasks described as being performed by one or more other functional
components of avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0044] Examples of fields in a database 400 storing the user's personal
information are depicted in FIG. 4A. As depicted in FIG. 4A, data
collection interface component 320 may store user data 410, first avatar
data 420, and second avatar data 430. Each of user data 410, first avatar
data 420, and second avatar data 430 may include one or more field 401a-f
(referred to herein collectively as "user data fields 401" and
individually as "user data field 401") to store associated information.
User data fields 401 may included various information associated with a
user and/or an avatar associated with the user. The example user data
fields 401 depicted in FIG. 4A include, for instance, name field 401a,
age field 401b, address field 401c, job data field 401d, and financial
data field 401e. As further depicted in FIG. 4A, user data fields 401 may
further store data files, such as storing images files in images data
field 401f. However, the particular example user data fields 401,
depicted in FIG. 4A, are provided merely for purposes of example and
other information may be stored in user data fields 401. Additionally, or
alternatively, user data fields 401 may store the actual data provided by
the registered user and/or a location (i.e., a pointer or memory address)
of the data.

[0045] The information stored in user data fields 401, associated with
user data 410, may correspond, for example, to data provided by the
registered user in response to one or more questions in forms sent from
data collection interface component 320. Additionally, or alternatively,
user data fields 401 may store other information associated with the
user, such as information previously received from the user (such as
information collected by data provided registration interface component
310) or information accessed from another data source, such as a public
data repository.

[0046] The information, stored in user data fields 401 and associated with
first avatar data 420 and second avatar data 430, may partially
correspond to the information stored in user data fields 401 associated
with user data 410. For example, avatar creation component 330 may, when
creating the first avatar data 420 and the second avatar data 430, remove
immutable personal information associated with the user, such as the
user's name, address, age and/or other personal or identifying
information, as appropriate. For example, when defining information for a
user data field 401 associated with first avatar data 420 and/or second
avatar data 430, avatar creation component 330 may swap information
contained in a user data field 401, associated with user data 410 for one
user, with corresponding information associated with another user.
Alternatively, or in addition to, when defining information for user data
field 401 associated with first avatar data 420 and/or second avatar data
430, avatar creation component 330 may replace information contained in a
user data field 401 associated with user data 410 with randomly
determined information that differs from user's data.

[0047] For example, first avatar data 420 may be defined to be provided to
an online vendor and may include information in address user data field
401c and in financial data field 401e that corresponds to information
associated with user data 410, but may include information in name user
data field 401a, age user data field 401b, job data field 401d, etc. that
differs from the information associated with user data 410 to protect the
user's anonymity because the. First avatar data 420 and second avatar
data 430 may be associated, respectively, with different subsets of user
data 410 such that first avatar data 420 and second avatar data 430 may
be configured for different data requesters.

[0048] The data, associated with a user data field 401 associated with
first avatar data 420 and/or second avatar data 430, may include an
indication of whether the data corresponds to information associated with
the user, such as user data 410. Alternatively, or in addition, the data
associated with a user data field 401, associated with first avatar data
420 and/or second avatar data 430, may include an indication of whether
the information in this user data field 401 or other information
associated with the user has been verified. Alternatively, or in
addition, the data associated with a user data field 401, associated with
first avatar data 420 and/or second avatar data 430, may include an
indication of whether the user was authenticated by data collection
interface component 320. For example, the data associated with a user
field 401 may include a particular alphanumeric code or symbol.

[0049] Database 400 may further store fields for storing records of the
registered requesters. FIG. 4B depicts, for example, one or more
requester data fields 402 (referred to herein collectively as "requester
data fields 402" and individually as "requester data field 402") that may
be stored by data requester registration interface component 350. In one
implementation, requester data fields 402 may be implemented in a storage
device included as part of memory 230. In other implementations,
requester data fields 402 may be stored in a memory associated with
another device or a group of devices, separate from or including memory
230. As shown in FIG. 4B, requester data fields 402 may include requester
identification (ID) field 440 and requester category field 450.

[0050] Requester ID field 440 may store an identifier, such as an
alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies a particular user or entity
(e.g., an authenticated user or entity associated with one of data
requesting devices 130). In FIG. 4B, requester data fields 402 are
associated with requesters 1-N. It should be appreciated, however, that
the particular requester data fields 402 depicted in FIG. 4B are provided
solely for purposes of example, and that requester data fields 402 may be
associated with any number of data requesters.

[0051] In one implementation, requester ID field 440 may store a requester
ID that is derived, for example, from the data provided by a requester to
data requester registration interface component 350. For example, the
requester ID, stored in requester ID field 440, may be derived from a
data requester's name, address, account information, telephone number,
etc. The requester ID, stored in requester ID field 440, may provide an
indication, for example, that two registered data requesters are related,
and these relationships may be used to categorize the registered
requesters. For example, data requesters sharing a contact address may be
presumed to be family members or co-workers absent contrary data
collected by data requester registration interface component 350.

[0052] In another implementation, the value stored in requester ID field
440 may be derived from or associated with, for example, unique
encryption codes or credentials, provided by data requester registration
interface component 350 to an authenticated data requester for
establishing a secure session or other connection to avatar data
collection and access system 110. For example, the value in requester ID
field 440 may be a portion of the registered requester's encryption codes
or credentials. Alternatively, the value in requester ID field 440 may be
functionally-related to encryption code or credential values associated
with registered data requester. For example, the registered requester may
use an assigned encryption code to transmit encrypted, secure data to
avatar data collection and access system 110, and avatar data collection
and access system 110 may use a value stored in requester ID field 440 to
decrypt the encrypted data. These particular types of values for
requester ID field 440 are provided merely for purposes of example, and
other types of values for requester ID field 440 may be used.

[0053] Returning to FIG. 4B, requester data field 402 may further include
requester category field 450 that identifies one or more requester
categories associated, by data requester registration interface component
350, with the requester associated with requester ID field 440. FIG. 4B
depicts examples of requester categories that include family, friend,
co-worker, vendor, doctor, and researcher categories. Each of these
categories may further include sub-categories. For example, as depicted
in FIG. 4B, the requester category of co-worker may include an employer
(or superior) category and a colleague category. Similarly, other
co-worker categories may be defined to differentiate between co-workers
in different departments, offices, etc. These particular requester
categories depicted in requester category field 450 are provided merely
for purposes of example, and other types of requester categories may be
defined, as appropriate, and stored in requester category field 450.

[0054] Although FIG. 4A shows examples of fields that may be stored in
personal data record entries 401, in other implementations, user data
field 401 may include fewer fields, different fields, differently
arranged fields, and/or additional fields than depicted in FIG. 4A.
Similarly, although FIG. 4B shows examples of fields that may be stored
in requester data fields 402, in other implementations, requester data
fields 402 may include fewer fields, different fields, differently
arranged fields, and/or additional fields than depicted in FIG. 4B.

[0055] Database 400 may be implemented in a storage device included as
part of memory 230. It should be appreciated, however, that in other
implementations, database 400 may be stored in a memory associated with
another device or a group of devices, separate from or including memory
230.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a diagram providing examples of components in a computer
device 500 that may correspond to user device 120 or one of data
requesting devices 130 described above. As shown in FIG. 5, computer
device 500 may include a bus 510, a processor 520, a memory 530, an input
device 540, an output device 550, and a communication interface 560.

[0057] Bus 510 may permit communication among the components of computer
device 500. Processor 520 may include one or more processors,
microprocessors, and/or processing logic (e.g., application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs))
that may interpret and execute instructions.

[0058] Memory 530 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type
of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for
execution by processor 520, a read only memory (ROM) or another type of
static storage device that stores static information and instructions for
processor 520, and/or a type of magnetic or optical recording medium and
its corresponding drive for storing information and/or instructions.

[0059] Memory 530 may store, for example, forms received from avatar data
collection and access system 110 and personal data provided by a user in
response to the forms. Memory 530 may also store, for example,
authentication data related to authentication of computer device 500 by
avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0060] Input device 540 may include a device that permits an operator to
input information to computer device 500, such as a keyboard, a keypad, a
mouse, a pen, a microphone, one or more biometric mechanisms, or other
similar devices. Output device 550 may include a device that outputs
information to the operator, such as one or more light indicators (e.g.,
light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a display, a speaker, etc.

[0061] Communication interface 560 may also include any transceiver-like
mechanism that enables computer device 500 to communicate with other
devices and/or systems. For example, communication interface 560 may
include mechanisms for communicating with other devices, such as other
devices of system 100 through network 101 (FIG. 1). For example,
communication interface 560 may include a modem, a network interface
card, and/or a wireless interface card. Communication interface 560 may
enable computer device 500 to interact with other devices to receive
forms and forward a user's responses to forms to another device, such as
avatar data collection and access system 110, and to provide
authorization to enable other devices, such as data requesting devices
130, to access to the stored personal information specified by a user
associated with computer device 500.

[0062] Communications interface 560 may further include a browser 561 or
another application to receive a form from data requesting devices 130,
to receive a user input in response to the form, and to forward the
user's inputs to avatar data collection and access system 110.
Alternatively, browser 561 may enable a data requesting user to create
and forward a form to avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0063] As described herein, computer device 500 may perform certain
operations in response to processor 520 executing software instructions
included in a computer-readable medium, such as memory 530. The software
instructions may be read into memory 530 from another computer-readable
medium or from another device via communication interface 560. The
software instructions included in memory 530 may cause processor 520 to
perform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry
may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to
implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations described
herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry
and software.

[0064] Although FIG. 5 shows examples of components of computer device
500, in other implementations, computer device 500 may include fewer
components, different components, differently arranged components, or
additional components than depicted in FIG. 5. Alternatively, or
additionally, one or more components of computer device 500 may perform
one or more tasks described as being performed by one or more other
components of computer device 500.

[0065] FIG. 6 depicts examples of avatars 600a-e for a registered user
that may be stored in connection with the operation of avatar creation
component 330 and/or data access interface component 340. In one
implementation, avatars 600a-e may be implemented in a storage device
included as part of memory 230. It should be appreciated, however, that
in other implementations, avatars 600a-e may be stored in a memory
associated with another device or a group of devices, separate from or
including memory 230. As described above, various components of avatar
data collection and access system 110 may form avatars based on a user's
personal data and then provide information associated with one of the
avatars to a data requester.

[0066] As described above, a person (or a biological entity) may be
associated with multiple avatars. As used herein, an avatar includes a
set of identity attributes associated with a biological entity, with each
avatar including one or more core attributes associated with the person
and differing in other attributes from the person. FIG. 6 depicts that a
user is associated, for example, with personal avatar 600a, consumer
avatar 600b, employee avatar 600c, and healthcare avatar 600d.

[0067] Core attributes included in the personal avatar 600a may include,
for example, personal information about the user, such as the name, age,
and address of the user, information about the user's family, and/or
other personal data, such as personal images. Personal avatar 600a may
not include other information related to the user, such as the user's job
and financial data. Personal avatar 600a may be shared, by data access
interface component 340, with data requesters that are classified, for
example, as friends, family, and/or other close acquaintances.

[0068] Core attributes included in consumer avatar 600b may be shared with
vendors and may include, for example, the user's address and payment
information. It should be appreciated, however, that sub-avatars may be
generated as needed by the registered users and data requesters. For
example, a user may be associated with multiple consumer avatars, such as
a mail-order consumer avatar to receive products to the user's home, a
business consumer avatar to receive products to the user's workplace, and
a personal services avatar to receive services at an appropriate
location. Similarly, a sub-avatar may be associated with a particular
vendor such that personal information required for a transaction with
that vendor may be included in the avatar and available for access by the
vendor. For example, a car rental company may require personal
information (e.g., driver's license number, insurance policy number, age,
etc.) that may not be needed by other types of vendors. To meet the
specific needs, a vendor may provide information to the avatar data
collection and access system 110 to define a sub-avatar that contains
specific information.

[0069] Consumer avatar 600b may also include, for example, information
regarding certain prior commercial activities by the user. For example,
consumer avatar 600b may include information regarding prior purchases by
the user but may omit information that could identify the user. In this
way, consumer avatar 600b may be used to reliably collect commercial
information from a customer without identifying the customer.

[0070] Employee avatar 600c may be shared, by data access interface
component 340, with co-workers or an employer, and core attributes
included in the employee avatar 600c may include, for example, the user's
work address, work calendar, work contacts, education and work history,
details, etc. Other information meaningful to an employer relationship
may be included in employee avatar 600c. For example, employee avatar
600c may be used to share work-related information, such as
identification of co-workers within a particular department, a status of
a work project, or contact information for work associates and/or
customers.

[0071] Data access interface component 340 may share healthcare avatar
600d with, for example, patients (when the user is identified as a
healthcare provider) or a doctor (when the user is identified as a
patient). The core attributes included in healthcare avatar 600d may
include, for example, an indication of the user's role in healthcare
(e.g., whether the user is a healthcare provider or a patient),
healthcare information shared between the user and doctor, etc. For
example, the healthcare avatar 600d may include information about the
user's health or indicate a computer network address where this
information can be acquired. Again, it should be appreciated that various
sub-avatars may be defined as needed by the data requesters.

[0072] Also, while FIG. 6 depicts examples of avatars formed from user
data, fewer avatars, different avatars, differently arranged avatars,
and/or additional avatars than depicted in FIG. 6 may be used in
implementations of the present application.

[0073] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of signal flows,
according to an implementation described herein, that may be between one
or more of user/client 701 (that may correspond to user device 120,
information requester 702 (that may correspond to requesting devices
130), and avatar data manager 703 (that may correspond to avatar data
collection and access system 110). According to an implementation
described herein, the signal flows depicted in FIG. 7 may further include
signals from third-party data source 704.

[0074] User/client 701 may exchange one or more user registration signals
710 with avatar data manager 703. For example, as described above with
respect to user device 120, user registration signals 710 may include
user/client 701 providing authentication data to avatar data manager 703,
and avatar data manager 703 using this information to authenticate
user/client 701.

[0075] Once authenticated, user/client 701 may receive user credentials
signal 720 from avatar data manager 703. User credentials signal 720 may
include credentials or encryption data that user/client 701 may use to
authenticate information sent to avatar data manager 703. For example,
user credentials signal 720 may include a digital signature or other
known encryption key value that avatar data manager 703 may use to verify
that information from user/client 701 is genuine and reliable.

[0076] For example, as part of personal data exchange signals 730,
user/client 701 may receive one or more forms from avatar data manager
703, and provide the data requested in the received forms in a response
to the avatar data manager 703. User/client 701 may use data provided in
user credentials signal 720 to mark the reply data requested by the forms
and included in one or more of personal data exchange signals 730. Avatar
data manager 703, when receiving the reply to the form(s) from
user/client 701, may use the data in user credentials signal 720 to
authenticate the received data from user/client 701, such as to encrypt
the data with an encryption code provided by avatar data manager 703 in
user credentials signal 720.

[0077] One or more of the forms transmitted by avatar data manager 703 in
personal data exchange signals 730 may optionally be received from data
source 704 in data forms signal 731. For example, data source 704 may be
an external data repository that stores and provides the forms.
Alternatively, data source 704 may be associated with information
requester 702.

[0079] After registration through requester registration signals 740,
avatar data manager 703 may provide requester credentials signal 750 to
information requester 702. Requester credentials signal 750 may include
credentials or encryption data that information requester 702 may use to
authenticate another signal information sent to avatar data manager 703.
For example, requester credentials signal 750 may include a digital
signature or other known encryption data value that avatar data manager
703 may use to verify that other signals, such as a data request, from
information requester 702 are genuine and reliable.

[0080] Continuing with FIG. 7, a series of signals for information
requester 702 to acquire avatar information from avatar data manager 703
are now described. For example, data collection by information requester
702 may be initiated by data request signals 760 between user/client 701
and information requester 702. For example, as part of an on-line
commercial transaction, user/client 701 may send an authorization and/or
request to information requester 702 to initiate access to an avatar
associated with user/client 701 and controlled by avatar data manager
703. Similarly, as part of a hospital registration, a patient associated
with user/client 701 may authorize information requester 702 associated
with the hospital to access the patient's medical records. As part of
this authorization included in data request signals 760, user/client 701
may send avatar identification information signal 770 to information
requester 702. For example, user/client 701 may send avatar
identification information signal 770 to information requester 702 in
exchange for some type of payment or service from information requester
702. Avatar identification information signal 770 may include data, such
as an identifier associated with the avatar and/or additional
authorization information, that information requester 702 may use to
prove the authenticity of a related data request (data request signals
780) to avatar data manager 703.

[0081] For example, to access the data stored by avatar data manager 703,
information requester 702 may send, with data request signals 780, avatar
information/requester credentials signal 785 that may identify an avatar
and may include credentials associated with information requester 702.
For example, avatar information/requester credentials signal 785 may
include the name of an avatar and/or credentials received from
user/client 701 in avatar identification information signal 770.
User/requester credentials signal 785 may further include credentials
received by information requester 702 in requester credentials signals
750. Avatar data manager 703 may use the information in avatar
information/requester credentials signal 785 to verify both that
information access is authorized by user/client 701 and that information
requester 702 is eligible to access the stored information. Similarly, as
described above, avatar data manager 703 may determine whether to grant
access to information based on one of user/client's avatars associated
with the requested data and based on classification assigned to
information requester 702.

[0083] FIGS. 8A-8D are flow diagrams illustrating an avatar-based identity
management process 800 according to an implementation described herein.
In one implementation, avatar-based identity management process 800 may
be performed by avatar data collection and access system 110. In other
implementations, some or all of avatar-based identity management process
800 may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate
from and/or possibly remote from avatar data collection and access system
110 and/or including avatar data collection and access system 110. In one
implementation, avatar-based identity management process 800 may be
manually initiated by an administrator. In another implementation,
avatar-based identity management process 800 may be performed
automatically (e.g., at particular intervals or in response to particular
received data).

[0084] As depicted in FIG. 8A, avatar-based identity management process
800 may include registering of a requesting party, such as a user/entity
associated with requesting device 130 (block 810). Process block 810 may
include the process blocks depicted in FIG. 8B. As depicted in FIG. 8B,
in one implementation, information may be received from the requesting
party (block 811), and the requesting party may be verified based on the
received information (block 812). For example, electronic verification of
the received from the requesting party may be performed. It should be
appreciated, however, that other known authentication techniques may be
employed to verify the information received from the requesting party.
Furthermore, credentials may be forwarded to the verified requesting
party (block 813), and the forwarded credentials may include, for
example, unique encryption codes or credentials to enable the verified
requesting party to establish a secure session or other connection to
request and access stored avatar-related information, as described below.

[0085] As depicted in FIG. 8A, avatar-based identity management process
800 may also include registering a user (block 820). Process block 820
may include the process blocks depicted in FIG. 8C. As depicted in FIG.
8C, in one implementation, registration information may be received from
a user, such as a user associated with user device 120 (block 821). The
user may be registered based on the received information (block 822). For
example, the received information may identify the user, and this
information may be verified to verify the user's identity. Various types
of verifications may be used, such as electronic verification of the
provided information. It should be appreciated, however, that other known
verification techniques may be employed to verify the identity of the
user.

[0086] Furthermore, credentials, such as unique encryption codes or
credentials for establishing a secure session or other connection to, for
example, avatar data collection and access system 110, may be provided to
a verified user (block 823). For example, a personal identification
number (PIN) may be assigned or, otherwise, an input from the user may be
used to define a PIN. The credentials may be provided to a device
associated with a registered user, such as user device 120, in the form
of a cookie that operates through the associated device to identify the
user to avatar data collection and access system 110.

[0087] Prior to accepting the data from the user, a verified user may be
authenticated (block 824), such as to request that the user provide the
PIN associated with the user. The user can be strongly authenticated by
providing and/or verifying multiple types of personal information, such
as to providing a PIN and additional personal information.

[0088] One or more forms may be provided to an authenticated and verified
user (block 825) to collect data from the user. When the forms are
provided to the verified and authenticated user, one or more fields in
the forms may be pre-populated with previously collected and/or stored
data associated with user, such as data acquired from other forms or the
information provided by the user during registration. The personal
information may be collected from the user (block 826), such as by
collecting the user's response to the forms.

[0089] The data collected from the user may be organized to define one or
more avatars (block 827). Information from the user's collected data may
be associated with an avatar, for example, based on inputs from the user.
Alternatively, or in addition, data from the user may into organized into
avatars based on one or more forms from which the data was collected.
Alternatively, or in addition, avatars are formed based on inputs
received from a requesting party. For instance, a requesting party can
specify data collected from the user, and the requested data may be
included in an avatar available to the requesting party.

[0090] Although the above discussion describes data being received from a
user with whom the data is associated, it should be appreciated that
information can be received from a third party identified by the user.
For example, the user, who is a patient, may request that information is
collected from the user's doctor, who would receive and respond to the
data request forms instead of the user.

[0091] Returning to FIG. 8A, avatar-based identity management process 800
may further include receiving a query from a requesting party to access
avatar information that includes certain personal information collected
from the user (block 830). In response to receiving the query, data
access interface component 340 may determine whether to issue the
information requested in the query (block 840).

[0092] Process block 840 may include the process blocks depicted in FIG.
8D. Referring now to FIG. 8D, the query may be processed to identify a
user and/or a requesting party associated with the query (block 841). For
example, the requesting party may include, in the query, credentials
associated with the data requester (e.g., assigned by data requester
registration interface component 350) and/or the data provider (e.g.,
assigned by data provider registration interface component 320) to access
one or more avatars. An avatar associated with the query may be
identified (block 842). For example, an avatar may be identified by an
identifier associated with the avatar (i.e., the avatar's name) or may be
automatically determined based on processing a request from the data
requester. A determination may be made regarding whether to provide the
requested information based on identifying the requesting party and the
identified avatar (block 843). For example, a user's "online transaction"
avatar may be provided to an online vender, but that avatar may not be
provided to another data requester.

[0093] In another implementation, the registered requesting party can
access certain avatars without authorization from the user. For example,
the requesting party can include a researcher who is collecting
information about users without collecting information that could be used
to identify the user. The requesting party collecting the anonymous
information may include, for example, a researcher collecting information
about the user's consumer behavior or information about the user's
healthcare.

[0094] Continuing with FIG. 8A, if it is determined to deny the requesting
party's query to access the requested information, such as when the
requesting party's classification is not eligible to receive the user's
avatar associated with the data included in the query, a denial message
may be sent to the requesting party (block 850). The data providing user
may provide instructions to modify the avatar or to modify access to the
avatars, or the data requester may modify the query.

[0095] If it is determined to grant the requesting party's query to access
the requested avatar (e.g., the requesting party is eligible to access
the information associated with the requested avatar), the requested
avatar may be issued to the requesting party (block 860). For example,
where the avatar data includes a network address where information
associated with the avatar is stored, issuing the requested avatar to the
requesting party may include sending the network address to the data
requester.

[0096] In one implementation, the registered user may be notified, for
example, of access, by the requesting party, to the user's personal data
contained in the accessed avatar (block 870). In response to accessing
the information, the requesting party may update the query and/or request
additional personal information from the user (block 880).

[0097] The foregoing description of implementations, described above,
provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed.
Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings
or may be acquired from practice of the invention.

[0098] For example, while series of blocks have been described with regard
to FIGS. 8A-8D, the order of the blocks may be modified in other
implementations. Further, non-dependent blocks may be performed in
parallel.

[0099] Also, certain portions of the implementations may have been
described as a "component" or "interface" that performs one or more
functions. The terms "component" and "interface" may include hardware,
such as a processor, an ASIC, or a FPGA, or a combination of hardware and
software (e.g., software running on a processor).

[0100] It will be apparent that aspects described herein may be
implemented in many different forms of software, firmware, and hardware
in the implementations illustrated in the figures. The actual software
code or specialized control hardware used to implement aspects does not
limit the embodiments. Thus, the operation and behavior of the aspects
were described without reference to the specific software code--it being
understood that software and control hardware can be designed to
implement the aspects based on the description herein.

[0101] Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the
claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not
intended to limit the disclosure of the invention. In fact, many of these
features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims
and/or disclosed in the specification.

[0102] No element, act, or instruction used in the present application
should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless
explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article "a" is
intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended,
the term "one" or similar language is used. Further, the phrase "based
on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on" unless explicitly
stated otherwise.